Bihar: RTO code list and details

Bihar RTOs are run by the state Transport Department, and each district office has its own BR code. A car is registered at the Regional Transport Office (RTO) for its district, and from then on its plate starts with BR and that office’s two digits, such as BR 01 for Patna.

Read a Bihar plate in order and it tells you where the car was registered. On BR 01 AB 1234, BR comes first and stands for Bihar, then 01 for the Patna office, then the letter series AB, and last the four-digit number, 1234.

The code on a vehicle depends on which office registered it, not on where the owner lives today. A car bought in one district and kept in another still carries the code of the first office.

A move from Patna to Gaya, or anywhere else in Bihar, leaves the BR-01 code as it is. A change of code would happen only after the car is registered in another state, or after a change to its registration details.

Worth knowing: Registration in Bihar does not tie the car to Bihar roads. A BR-01 car can be driven to Kolkata, Delhi or any other part of India on the same plate.

A new car bought in Patna leaves the dealer with a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) already on it. Every new vehicle has come with this plate since 1 April 2019, fitted by the manufacturer and dealer under Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, so the owner does not have to arrange it.

Older Bihar cars and HSRP

A Gaya car registered before 1 April 2019 needs the plate too. The owner books the installation, the plate is fitted by the date Bihar sets, and the car then meets the rule. The rule traces back to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: G.S.R. 1162(E) was issued on 4 December 2018, and S.O. 6052 followed on 6 December 2018.

Worth knowing: To get the plate fitted, book an HSRP installation on the booking portal that the Bihar transport department website names, then check on that site the date that applies to your BR vehicle.

Bihar RTO codes run from BR-01 for Patna to BR-56 for Arwal, with one code for each of the 38 District Transport Offices. Your office is the one that covers the address on your Registration Certificate (RC).

The nine Regional Transport Authorities in Bihar do not have plate codes of their own, so every vehicle registered in Bihar carries the code of a district office.

Patna RTO is the District Transport Office (DTO) for Patna district, and it uses BR-01, the first code in Bihar. A car registered at an address in Patna goes through this office and ends up with a BR-01 number, while a car registered in a neighbouring district carries that district’s code instead.

For a Patna address, registration, the RC and road tax are handled by this office. Its address and hours are not listed here yet, so confirm them with the Transport Department, Bihar before a visit.

Find your city or town below, read across to its code, and that is the district office that registers vehicles there. A car bought in Gaya, for example, is registered at the Gaya office and ends up with a BR-02 plate.

Worth knowing: A town without an office of its own is registered at its district office. A car bought in Hajipur therefore gets BR-31, the Vaishali code, and one from Ara gets BR-03, the Bhojpur code.

Road tax in Bihar is paid once, at the first registration in the state, and the amount is a share of the ex-showroom price. A new car pays 8% to 12% and a new two-wheeler pays 9% to 13%, with a higher rate for costlier vehicles.

For example, a car with an ex-showroom price of ₹6 lakhs pays 9%, which is ₹54,000. Move up to a ₹12 lakhs car and the 10% band applies, so the tax comes to ₹1,20,000.

For example, a motorcycle with an ex-showroom price of ₹90,000 pays 9%, which is ₹8,100. A motorcycle priced at ₹1.5 lakhs pays 10%, which is ₹15,000.

The state can revise these rates, so the last step before paying is to check the amount Vahan works out for your vehicle.

At the Patna office, registering a new car costs ₹600 and a duplicate Registration Certificate (RC) costs ₹300, and a Bhagalpur owner pays the same. Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 fixes these amounts for every state, Bihar included.

Paid on top: The HSRP, Bihar road tax and any state service charge are separate payments. Vahan lists each one before you pay.

When you buy a new car from a dealer in Patna, the dealer applies to register it on the Vahan portal, and in most cases the car does not go to the RTO at all. Road tax and the registration fee are paid with the price, the RTO approves the application, and you end up with a Registration Certificate (RC) and a BR number.

Important to know: Buy the policy yourself before delivery day if you prefer. The dealer only has to see valid cover to register the car, and a policy you chose works the same way.

When a BR-06 car is sold in Muzaffarpur, the transfer goes through Vahan or the Muzaffarpur office, as that office issued the RC. The RTO charges ₹300 for a car, and the buyer ends up with the RC in their own name.

The last step belongs to the buyer: Within 14 days of the transfer, the insurance has to be moved into the buyer’s name.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Bihar

A car bought on a loan in Patna has the lender on its RC through Form 34. Once the loan is cleared, the order is: Lender’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) and Form 35 first, then the application on Vahan, and finally a fresh RC without the loan.

For most RTO work in Bihar, the first step is online. Vehicle services start on the Vahan portal and driving licence services on the Sarathi portal, both on the Parivahan Sewa website, and an office visit comes in only for steps such as the driving test.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Bihar

If the RC of a BR-02 car from Gaya is lost, stolen or damaged, the owner first applies on Form 26 through Vahan, pays ₹300 for a car, and then receives a duplicate. While the application is in progress, its status shows on Parivahan Sewa and mParivahan, or you can check your RC status on Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Bihar

A new driver in Muzaffarpur goes through Sarathi in order: The learner’s licence first, then the driving test booking. Renewals and the International Driving Permit are applied for there too, and Form 2 and Form 4A are in the forms section below.

If a driver in Patna is stopped without valid insurance, a challan follows: ₹2,000 for a first offence and ₹4,000 for any after that. These are the national amounts in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, and as Bihar can compound some offences at its own amounts, the challan shows what is due.

To clear a challan on a BR vehicle, enter the vehicle or challan number on the Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in, or in mParivahan, check the amount and pay it there.

Worth knowing: Of all these, the uninsured driving fine is the one a valid policy removes. The car insurance section below covers how that works for a BR car.

If you are leaving Bihar, the same steps run the other way: Get the NOC from your BR office before the car goes, register it in the new state, and then apply to Bihar for a refund of the unused road tax.

A Bharat series (BH) number plate is a registration that works in every state, so it has no BR code. If a BH owner in Patna is later posted to another state, the car moves with them, and there is no No Objection Certificate (NOC) and no new registration. The series was introduced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways with G.S.R. 594(E) of 26 August 2021, which came into force on 15 September 2021, and G.S.R. 879(E) of 14 December 2022 later allowed ownership transfer and conversion of an existing registration.

Under the national rule, a diesel car pays 2% more, an electric car 2% less, and the tax is charged in 2-year blocks. A Bihar notification of July 2024 adds that a BH vehicle in Bihar pays motor vehicle tax for 14 years. Compare that with a regular BR number: A ₹6 lakhs car pays Bihar road tax of 9% just once, which is ₹54,000.

The format is YY BH #### XX, where YY is the year of first registration, the four digits are allotted at random, and XX represents the alphabetic series, which can be a single letter or two letters. It is black on a white plate, like any other private car. When a BH car leaves Bihar, there is also no road tax refund to claim, as the car is never registered again.

The forms a Patna or Gaya office accepts are the national ones in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, so they match every other state. Today, the usual route is to fill them in online on Vahan or Sarathi. If a district office still asks for a paper form, print the PDF from the Parivahan Sewa website.

A used car sale runs in order: Form 29 from the seller, then Form 30 from both. Once the RC shows the buyer, there are 14 days to move the insurance.

Worth knowing: Each form is handled by the district office named by the code on your RC, which means Patna for BR-01 and Gaya for BR-02. As some services also need address proof or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, read the document list on the Parivahan Sewa website before you start. For a form that is not in this grid, use the RTO form list on the Parivahan Sewa website.

Worth knowing: When you buy a used BR car, doing the RC transfer and the policy transfer in the same two weeks means the car is covered from the day it changes hands.